Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Stake in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 22.0%, selling 145,702 shares, leaving it with approximately 0.10% ownership of the company valued at around $160.9 million.
• Amgen recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $6.02, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a revenue increase of 9.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, with a resulting annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, scheduled to be paid to stockholders on September 12th.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 516,488 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 145,702 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.10% of Amgen worth $160,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 1.5% in the first quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 4.5% in the first quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 861 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 1.7% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 3.2% in the first quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $3.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $283.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,518,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,791,104. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $339.17. The firm has a market cap of $152.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $293.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.97 earnings per share. Amgen's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,000.91. The trade was a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.43.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. The company's principal products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; XGEVA for skeletal-related events prevention; Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization; Nplate for the treatment of patients with immune thrombocytopenia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; EVENITY for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal for men and women; Vectibix to treat patients with wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer; BLINCYTO for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; TEPEZZA to treat thyroid eye disease; and KRYSTEXXA for the treatment of chronic refractory gout.